Becoming the Lost

Chapter Two

❤️ Tony Stark 💛

  "Stupid kid. Stupid, brave kid." That was the first thing that came out of his mouth upon seeing the art that was in his hands. Sure he had been getting a lot of fan art and children's drawings in the mail but this one was the one that got the most emotion out of Tony. It sent him back to a couple of weeks ago when this stupidly brave kid had stood up to one of the drones that had been controlled by Ivan. That kid, who surely couldn't be over ten, could have died.

  Tony wouldn't know how to feel if that had happened. Luckily they had no casualties at the Stark Expo, so that much was off Tony's chest. Although there had been a lot of bad things about him in the news. All of them focusing on the fact that it had happened at Stark Expo. None of them ever really seemed to touch on the fact it was Hammer Industries that was behind the attack or the fact that Tony - and Rhodes - had been the ones to save them.

  But no matter what the news said, Tony luckily still had the kids on his side. One of which was named Peter P. as it showed on the back of the paper Tony held. The one that was now his favourite. One that he would surely have to get framed, or in the very least, a protective sleeve for it.

  Drawn in crayon was the image from the Stark Expo. Two Ironman suits stood before a drone, one of them child sized and the other an adult sized Ironman. They both held out their left hands, repulsors aimed at the drone. A speech bubble coming out from the taller suit of armour: 'Nice work, kid.'

It amazed Tony how accurate the drawing was, despite it being blocky and awkward. The kid had on the same clothes in the drawing as he had had on that day. As far as Tony knew, there was no pictures of the drones, just bad quality videos. And yet even the detail on the drone was accurate. And the kid had put the colours of the Ironman suit in all the right places. The amount of detail made him think that the artist had been at least a teen, but the art quality and the height of the little boy, had Tony sure of the fact that the boy had been six to nine years old.

  Tony didn't know what to do. He found himself staring at the picture, wondering what the kid was up to now. Was he doing alright? Did his parents know what had happened to him at the expo? And did they believe whatever tape the kid ended up telling?

  "Either that's a really good work of art or you're thinking about something," Pepper said as she walked into the room. Tony instantly snapped out of the trance he had put himself in as he got lost in his thoughts. "So which one is it?" She asked as she walked over, trying to get a look at the paper Tony now held in his hands.

  Tony looked down at the paper in his hands before holding it out to Pepper. "Both actually." He said, his hands moving to run through his hair once his hands were free. As he did so, he seemed to notice this weight that had attached itself to his shoulders. Not physical weight but metaphoric weigh. Not only could the kid have died, but many people could have as well, just because Tony had a couple of enemies.

  "You mean to tell me that a kid stood up to one of those drones? Tony, that kid could have died." Pepper said, worry instantly in her voice. Maternal instincts for a kid she didn't know. It was weird, but even though they had never gotten the chance to raise their child, Pepper had these motherly instincts when it came down to just about any kid.

  "I don't need the reminder thanks." Tony said, making his way to his feet. He did not move from his spot though, only raised his hand, motioning for Pepper to calm down. "But for the record I didn't actually tell you anything, and the kid is fine. I made sure of that."

Pepper took a couple of steps towards Tony, her arms crossed across her chest. Tony couldn't help but notice that she made sure not to crumple the paper she held in her hands. All she did was raise an eyebrow. Tony could help but come completely clean.